The Shopping Trip
by 554Laura
Summary: Pops and Max go shopping for the family's Christmas gifts. This one shot is part of the Bonesology Christmas gift exchange, written for my friend Galaxy Gurl. I hope you like it. Merry Christmas! I don't own Bones...


_A/N: This story is part of my Bonesology Christmas gift for Galaxy Gurl. She wanted a story where the kids spend some time with their grandfathers, and I expanded it so that the grandfathers could spend some time with each other._

 _Part 2 of your gift will be posted in a few weeks, GG. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Part 1. Laura._

* * *

Hank Booth pulled his heavy jacket closer as he sat in the foyer of the retirement center. It was a good place to live, even if it was a bit drafty. He shivered slightly as he leaned back against the bench, wondering if the place really was drafty or if his advanced years were responsible for the stiffness and the chill he felt that morning.

His ride would be there any minute. At first he'd had his doubts about whether or not this trip was a good idea, but he soon realized he shouldn't be out and about in the city by himself. He'd become a little forgetful over the past year or two, and he sure didn't want some cop to call Shrimp and report him as missing. He shook his head as he chuckled. _That wouldn't a good way for my grandson to spend the holidays, fretting about where the old man had wandered off to this time...Shrimp would chew my ass for sure when I finally showed up._

Soon the center's front door opened, and his visitor stepped in out of the cold. The man's bright blue eyes twinkled as he shook hands with Hank. "How'ya doin', Buddy? Ready for our excursion?"

"I sure am, Max. Listen, I appreciate you doing this for me. I don't get around too well by myself any more…" Hank shrugged as he pulled himself up off the bench. "I know it's a pain in the ass to cart me around like this, but I need a little help…"

"It's no problem. I'm gonna enjoy the company. Anyway, I don't mind doing you a favor." Seeing Hank's frown, Max laughed and shook his head. "Okay, I won't do you a favor. Tell ya what...you can buy us some lunch, okay? Will that make you feel better?"

"Yeah, it would. We best get a move on, or we'll run into my nap time. I get grouchy if I miss my nap." Hank grinned as he slowly followed Max out to the car. "You got the list?"

Max held up the folded piece of paper. "Right here. I think we can get most of this stuff at the mall. It's a good thing we're going in the middle of the week. It'll be a lot less crowded. That place is crazy on the weekends."

"Well, two old guys like us don't need to be running around in those crowds anyway, right?" Hank eased himself into the passenger seat of the sedan. "Shrimp is always trying to get me to learn how to use that damn computer so I can shop online, but I like to look at what I'm buying before I spend my money on it."

"Me, too." Max winked at Hank as he pulled the car out of the parking lot. "Besides, we need to get out of the house every once in awhile, you know? Two wild single guys out on the town, right?"

"Right." Hank nodded resolutely. "I hope we have some luck finding all that stuff. I'd like to get as much done today as we can."

"Well, if we don't finish today, we'll just go again tomorrow." Max chuckled softly. "It's not like we have to take off work or anything like that to go Christmas shopping."

"True." Hank sighed as he watched the buildings go by. "Although sometimes I miss having to be in a certain place at a certain time, you know? If I don't have a schedule, I get kinda bored, just sitting around all day, waiting for something to happen. I feel better when I have something to look forward to."

"I know. I feel the same way." Max glanced at the older man sitting next to him. "Maybe we can make this a weekly thing if you want."

"Nah...I don't think so. I don't want to waste your time like that, Max. You've got better things to do than chauffeur an old coot around."

"It wouldn't be a waste of my time." Max shrugged as they waited at an intersection for a stoplight to change. "Anyway, sometimes I get bored, too, and I could use a friend to talk to...someone closer to my own age, who understands the stuff that us old guys have to deal with. We wouldn't always have to go shopping. Maybe we could just go get a cup of coffee and a Danish."

"Yeah...okay." Hank scratched his chin as he thought about Max's statement. "Well, let's find out if we can stand each other while we go Christmas shopping, and then we'll see, okay?"

"Okay. Here we are…" Max pulled into the parking lot of the mall and found a handicapped slot. "Where do you want to start?"

"At the sporting goods place. I bet we can knock Shrimp and maybe Parker off the list at the same time. Parker wants a Flyers jersey, right? And Shrimp wants some new ice skates…even though I think he's getting a bit too old to play hockey like he does. Anyway, he says he's the best player on his team so he can't quit yet."

Max laughed as he checked over their list. "That sounds like Booth. You can get those things, and I'll get Booth a couple of packages of golf balls and some tees. Maybe then he'll have an excuse to go to the driving range instead of the shooting range."

After a half hour in the sporting goods store, the two men strolled down the brightly decorated mall corridor to a nearby toy shop. After looking at the list, Max handed the paper to Hank. "Parker wants some sort of baseball video game, and Christine wants a microscope and some prepared slides, and she also wants a Lego horse ranch set. What you you want to get her?"

"I think I'll get my little honey bee the Legos. After all, you used to be a science teacher, right? So you'd know more about that microscope stuff than I would." Hank smiled to himself as he saw Max's pleased expression. "Let's see what they've got in here."

After stopping to admire the train sets and the toy cars, Hank and Max walked back to the Lego display. "Let's see here…", Hank muttered. "...the horse ranch set…" He picked up a box and inspected it closely. "I think this is it. Look...Christine can build a ranch house and a barn, and it comes with three toy horses. I think she'll like that, and Temperance would approve, right? After all, that little girl is so smart, and she can use her imagination with the set, playing like she's a rancher…"

"I'm sure Tempe will be fine with whatever you pick out for Christine, Hank." Max held out some boxes for Hank to see. "Here's the microscope and the video game." Checking his watch, he grinned. "Let's go pay for our stuff and then hit the food court. I'm getting hungry. We can shop for Tempe after we eat."

Hank nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good idea. I could use a sandwich and a cup of coffee myself."

Except for the soft Christmas music playing in the background, the food court was quiet as they sat down next to a brightly lit Christmas tree. Hank groaned a little bit as he got situated in his chair before he unwrapped his burger. "I think I'm getting a little too old for this sort of all day shopping trip." He took a sip of his coffee. "But it is nice to be out running around the mall instead of being stuck in my room all day."

"Yeah, I know." Max took a bite of his sandwich. "I've always enjoyed getting ready for the holidays." He hesitated slightly as he glanced at the elderly man across the table from him. "You know, Hank, I really appreciate what a fine man Booth is. You did a great job raising him. I couldn't ask for a better husband for my little girl." Wearing a pained expression, he continued quietly. "I have so many regrets about what happened to Tempe after my wife and I left her and her brother to fend for themselves. I mean, we had to leave in a hurry right around Christmas, and it took her several years to get over being abandoned like that, but I guess she finally did, thanks to Booth's love and support. He also talked her into forgiving me for being such a sorry bastard. I owe him a lot. Without him, I don't know if I'd get to spend time with my grandkids."

"You ain't the only one with regrets, Max." Hank grunted softly as he stirred his coffee. "I wish I'd known sooner how my son was treating his boys, but for some reason I didn't. I don't know...maybe I just couldn't believe that shit was actually happening right under my nose." Taking a sip from his cup, he grimaced. "I was worried about what kind of man Shrimp would turn out to be after everything that happened to him, you know? I mean, after he got out of the Army, he was on the road to hell, with all the gambling and the constant womanizing...that is, until he met Temperance. I thank God for her every day, because she was the one who inspired my boy to stay on the straight and narrow. I told him as soon as I met her that she was a keeper, and he proved me right. Now he's happy, with a wonderful family, and that makes me happy as well."

"So I guess those two kids turned out okay in spite of us, right?" Max smiled faintly as he picked up some chips from his tray. "I'd say we're both pretty lucky, aren't we? We've both got ourselves a nice little family because those two found each other."

"Yeah, we're blessed, alright." Hank sniffled a bit as he wiped his eyes and nose with his handkerchief. "Damn allergies, making my nose run like that." He looked at his watch. "Hey, we probably need to finish up here if we're gonna get our shopping done, okay?"

"You're probably right." Hank smiled picked up the trays and threw their trash away. "Okay, Hank. Let's go finish our shopping."

Oooooooooo

A fragrant, tinsel covered spruce stood in the corner of the cozy family room as a fire crackled and popped merrily in the fireplace. The Christmas presents had been opened to the delighted squeals and happy laughter of Christine and Parker, who were now enjoying their gifts as their doting grandfathers looked on.

"Look, Grandpa Max...I hit a home run!" Parker, wearing his new Flyers jersey over his pajamas, waved his video controller around as he cheered loudly. "This game is great. It's so much fun. Thanks for getting it for me."

I'm glad you like it, Parker." Max smiled as Booth came to sit with them on the sofa. "Maybe you and your dad can play the game together, and then I can play the winner. I used to be a pretty good baseball player when I was a boy."

"This game may take a little different skill set, Max." Booth chuckled as he picked up the second controller. "Have you ever played a video game before?"

"Not really, but I used to be pretty good at pinball…" Max watched as Parker and Booth moved their thumbs quickly over the joysticks. "...I guess I can learn…"

"I hope so. I think it'd be a lot of fun to play against you, Grandpa." Parker laughed happily as he hit another home run.

"Grandpa…" Max smiled as he turned to Booth. "I'm so glad I get to be called Grandpa by this boy. Thanks, Booth."

"Yeah, no problem. Just don't think that you being my kid's grandpa is gonna keep me from beating your socks off at this game, Old Man. I've got the fastest thumbs east of the Mississippi."

As Max and Booth teased each other over the video game, Christine nestled next to her great grandfather as he sat in the recliner. "Look at my horses, Pops!" She held up a pink plastic horse. "This one is named Flash, and the blue one is named Sparky. I think I'm gonna call the yellow one Goldie. They all live on my ranch with me, and they're the smartest horses in the world."

"What makes them so smart, Honey Bee?" Pops laughed quietly as Christine moved the horses across his lap. "Can they do tricks?"

"Yes." The little girl nodded vigorously. "They can do tricks and jumps, and they can run really fast, and they can count. I trained them all by myself."

"Well, I bet you did a bang up job, right? That looks like a mighty fine ranch house you built there, too. Are you living here in DC?"

"Don't be silly, Pops!" Christine rolled her eyes at him. "We can't keep horses in the city. I have to live out in the country to have three horses. I'm gonna train them to run in races."

"That sure sounds like fun." Picking up one of the plastic horses, Hank made a neighing sound as he made the toy horse pretend to prance around. "I'm glad you like your new ranch, Christine."

"Thanks, Pops." The little girl threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I love it, and I love my microscope, too, Grandpa Max. This is the best Christmas ever!"

Brennan, wearing her new royal blue sweater that was a gift from Hank, smiled as she came into the room. "It has been a wonderful Christmas, hasn't it? I love all of my gifts, too." She reached up and lightly ran her finger over her new necklace. "This is so pretty, Dad."

"I'm glad you like it, Honey. Maybe you can wear it when you go with Booth to the driving range." Max grinned at his son in law. "So you really like that gift certificate to the golf place, right?"

"Yep, and my new ice skates are great, too." Booth laughed as he got up from the couch. "It looks like you and Pops should go shopping together more often, Max."

The two older men both laughed out loud. Hank slapped his knee as he grinned at Max. "I don't know, Shrimp. The mall may not be handle a visit from two crazy old guys like us more than once a year."

"I told you to keep that mischief under your hat, Hank. I don't want Tempe to know how much trouble we got into…" Max winked at his daughter as she pretended to frown. "We had a good time together that day, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did, Max." Hank bounced Christine on his knee. "I think we may need to make another excursion to the mall pretty soon. Maybe we can find another reason to go shopping."

"I think so...maybe in a couple of weeks." Max nudged Parker in the ribs. "We might not need to shop for anything, but maybe we can hang out in the food court just like the teenagers do."

"Maybe so, Dad, but right now, it's time for breakfast.", Brennan announced. "Come on, everyone...you can play with your toys after we eat."

Hank eased out of his recliner and moved slowly towards the kitchen. Pausing slightly, he turned toward Max. "Thanks for taking me shopping, Max. Merry Christmas, Buddy."

Max nodded as he followed Hank into the kitchen. "You, too, my friend...you, too."

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Be on the look out for Part 2 soon...


End file.
